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Bulletin No. 26 | March 10, 1922, 
MM. M. LEIGHTON 


COMMONVEALTH OF PENNSYLVANTA 


a a ee 


DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS 
James F. Woodward, Secretary 


BUREAU OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
George H. Ashley, State Geologist 


COAL BEDS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
BY 
J. D. Sisler 


Tntroduction. 


Vashington County has been one of the most important coal pro- 
ducers in Pennsylvania for many years. It contains approximately 40 
percent of.the Pittsburgh coal reserves in the State. Several coal 
beds, besides the Pittsburgh,’ atre* mineable and can be expected to 
maintain the large output when the thicker ana more easily accessible 
coal has been exhausted. Some of the beds above the Pittsburgh coal 
are now being mined, but development has not reached the beds lying 
below that coal, because they are at great depth and little is known 
of their quality or persistence. 


In 1918 Washington County stood third in Pennsylvania as a 
bituminous coal producer, Bens excelled only by Fayette and West- 
moreland counties. The county produced 23 537 ,265 tons of coal, 
valued at $57,968,881, and distributed as follows: 21 , 369,814 tons 
loaded at the mines for Shipment; 435,417 tons used at the mines for 
steam and heat; 340,838 tons made into coke at the mines. 


There are thirty coal beds in the county, many of which are only 
a few inches thick, and eight are locally workable. The Pittsburgh 
bed is the most persistent and important coal in Washington County. 
The Waynesburg and Washington beds are greatly valued as producers 
of domestic coal; the Redstone bed is also locally workable, 


Washington County, situated in the sovthwestern part of the 
State, is bounded on the north by Beaver County, on the northeast by 
Allegheny County, on the east by Westmoreland ard Fayette counties, 


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on the south by Greene County and on the west by the State of Ohio. 
Its greatest width from north to south is 574 miles, and from east 

to west 38 miles. Its area is 890 square miles. The population in 
1920 was 188,992, 


Washington County has ample transportation facilities, both by 
water and rail. The Monongahela division of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road follows the west bank of Mononganelea River along the eastern 
border of the county; a branch of this divisicn runs southwest from 
Monongahela City to Marianna, taking in the mining towns of that 
district. The Chartiers and Southern railroad now under construction 
will connect with the Pennsylvania system at Marianna and run north 
from that point through Carnegie to Pittsburgh. Another branch 
extends from Pittsburgh across the county to Washington, where it 
connects with the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad, the latter 
railroad continuing south to Waynesburg, The Pennsylvania Reilroad 
from Pittsburgh to Steubenville, Ohio, end the west, crosses the 
northern part of the county. The Pittsburgh and West Virginia 
Railroad crosses the county parallel and a few miles sovth of the 
latter railroad. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Pittsburgh 
entérs the county. near the northeastern corner and runs through’ 
Washington and Claysville to the western boundary of the county. 


Monongahela River offers another means for the transportation 
‘of the coal mined in the river district. A large part of the yearly 
production is loaded in barges destined to points along Ohio River. 


Washington County has many miles of improved roads and a great 
many good dirt roads that are used extensively for the transportation 
of coal to railroad sidings and to local consumers, 


‘The many transportation routes, the excellent quality of the 
coal, and its proximity to a ready market have combined to make 
Washington County a large contributor to the fuel supply. 


Washington County is a maturely dissected region, The surface 
is hilly, The streams have erodec their valleys to a fairly uniform 
grade and their numerous small branches have cut the uplands into 
narrow ridges and hilis with gentle slopes. Elevations in the 
county range from 800 to 1500 feet above tide, but points above 1300 
feet are rare, 


STRUCTURE, 


Structure contours have been dravm on the base of the Pitts- 
burgh coal, The datum is mean sea level. 


There are eleven major structural features in the county, all 
of which have a direct effect upon the position and mining of the 
coals. The features having a general northeast t-southwest trend are: 
Bellevernon anticline, Waynesburg syncline, Amity anticline, Nineveh 
syneline, Washington anticline, Finney syncline, Ciaysville anti- 
cline, and West Middletown syncline. The Cross Creek and McMurry 


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Synclines cut across the West Middletown and Nineveh synclines almost 
at right angles in the northwest part of the county. The Pan Handle 
trench, in-the vicinity of Bridgeville in the northeastern part of 
the county, is another peculiar local structural feature. 


: The Bellevernon anticline is an important structure in eastern 
Washington County. Where it enters the county at the extreme south- 
eastern corner the Pittsburgh coal has an altitude of 840 feet. The 
axiS rises rapidly toward the north and the Pittsburgh bed has an 
altitude of 1,000 feet one mile north of Pike Run. The fold in- 
creases slowly in height to the south branch of Maple Creek where a 
Sharp dome marks the greatest development of the structure, with the 
Pittsburgh bed at an elevation of 1060 feet. The axis plunges 
irregularly to the northeast and at the mouth of Maple Creek the 
Pittsburgh coal has an altitude of 1,000 feet. 


The Waynesburg syncline is a broad structural trough lying 
northwest of the Bellevermon anticline. The dips sre gentle, being 
On the average less than 100 feet per mile, and the bottom is broad 
and flat. At the Greene County line the Pittsburgh coal has an 
elevation of less than 400 feet, but it rises graéually northeast to 
About 700 feet above sea on Pigeon Creek. 


The Amity anticline crosses the county from the south center to 
the northeast corner, and is a broad structure with gentle dips on 
both flanks. The Pittsburgh coal rises from an elevation of 450 
feet on Ten Mile Creek to a maximum of 1040 feet in the Peters Creek 
region. 


The Nineveh syneline, which enters the county close by the 
Waynesburg railroad and leaves it just west of the Chartiers rail- 
road, is a shallow trough having an average width of 9 miles. The 
axis varies much in elevation, Near Conger the Pittsburgh coal has 
an elevation of about 350 feet; northeast in the vicinity of Gambles, 
it rises to 700 feet and réaches a maximum clevation of 1040 feet 
along this axis at Houston. 


The Washington anticline extends from the Chartiers Creek dis- 
trict southwest into Greene County. The northern part of the 
structure is broad and flat, with the Pittsburgh coal at elevations 
of 950 to-1050 feet along its axis. ‘The axis changes greatly in 
elevation, especially in the southwestern part of the county, form- 
ing a series of domes, The eastern flank dips rather sharply into 
the Nineveh syncline; the western flank has a gentle dip toward the 
Finney syncline, 


The Finney syncline extends from the town of Washington to the 
southwestern corner of the county. It is broad and irregular on the 
south and rises and narrows rapidly to the northeast. It is 
composed of a series of troughs along a common axis, 


The Claysville anticline enters the county about two miles 
north of the southwestern corner and extends in a general northeast 
@irection to a few miles north of Gretna. This anticline is 


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practically a continuous chain of alternating domes and saddles which 
vary greatly in elevation, width, and depth. 


The ‘Jest Middletown syncline enters the county a few miles south 
of Buffalo Creek and trends northward to Murdocksville. The east- 
west structure has broken the syncline into a series of basins which 
have rather high, and in the most part, very regular dips. 


The Cross Creek syncline originates near the town of Cross 
Creek and extends eastward to the Nineveh syncline. This minor 
structure forms one of. the basins on the axis of the West Middletown 
Syncline. The dips on both its flanks are gentle. Its axis varies 
greatly in elevation. | 


The McMurry syncline, a minor structure, originates in a low 
depression of the Nineveh syncline near Morganza, and extends east 
to the county line. The dips on both flanks are gentle and regular, 


and its axis rises northeastward. 


STRATIGRAPHY, 


The outcropping rocks of Washington County are river alluvium, 
the Carmichaels formation of Quaternary age, and the Greene, Wash-" 
ington, Monongahela, and Conemaugh formations of Carboniferous age. 
Phe thickness of outcropping consolidatec rocks is about 1190 feet. 


Drill holes have reached below the Catskill formation of 
Devonian age, but no workable coal beds were recorded below the 


Allegheny formation, 


The Carmichacls formation is found on terraces along river 
valleys. It is composed of unconsolidated deposits of gravel, sand, 
clay and Silt. The youngest deposits in the county are the sand and 
Silt deposited by the streams during times of high water. Their 
thickness varies from a few feet along the smaller streams to 40 
feet along Ohio River. The flood plains are a few feet to a mile 


“wide.. 
The Greene formation has been eroded from large areas in the 
northern part of the county; in the southern part where some areas 
remain practically intact, its total thickness is about 350 feet. 


No coal beds of commercial importance are found in this formation, 
which is chiefly composed of shales, thin sandstones, and limestones. 


The Washington formation has a maximum thickness of 400 feet in 
the county. Its average thickness is much less. It is composed of 
bort shaly sandstones, shales, a few thick limestones, and two 


orkable coal beds. 


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5 The Monongahela formation is the most important coal—-bearing 
2 pease in the county. It is composed of sandstenes, shales, lime- 
Stones, and three workable coal beds, one being the Fattsburgh. 


The outercp of the Conemaugh formation is limited to the ostream 
valleys in the northern part of the county. ‘The formation is about 
550 feet thick, and is composed of gray or greenish shale, sandstone, 
thin limestones, and a number of unworkable coals. | 


The Allegheny formation does not outcrop in the county, but its 
characteristics are known from drill records. It is composed chiefly 
of sandstones, shales, coal beds, and thin limestones, and has an 
average thickness of 275 feet. Two mineable coals of variable thick- 
ness have been recorded in a few drill records. 


COALS. 


. The coals of the Allegheny formation in Washington County are 
far below the surface and do not outcrop. The information concerning 


them is based entirely on data obtained from drill records, These 


data are limited and inadequate since most of them are from churn 
drill records that do not give a section of the coal passed through, 
and the: drillers, who are primarily concerned with oil and gas 
horizons, often fail to record coals, ; 


Two coals of workable thickness have been noted in drilling, one 
at the approximate horizon of the Freeport coals, and the other at 
the horizon of the- Kittanning group of coals. At present this Survey 
has.:little information as to their thickness and persistence. Rumors 


" among the coal fraternity would indicate that the large companies, 
who have, bought up considerable acreages in the county, are counting 
these coals as a reserve for future use, This is quite possible, for 


a locality containing the Allegheny formation usually has at least 
one valuable coal, and may have several, Again, these coals are 
important in adjoining areas, and it is unlikely that all of them 


would become thin and unmineable within a few miles, 


Harlem Coal. This bed lies just below the Ames limestone in 


the Conemaugh formation. Jt outcrops in the extreme northwest part 


of the county, with a thickness of 18 inches. It is geologically the 
lowest coal outcropping in the county. 


A local bed lying 15 to 30 feet above the Ames limestone, is 3 
feet thick near Murdocksville, and has been opened in several places. 


Little Clarksburg Coal.’ MThis bed is locally mineable in the 


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northwest part of the county, where it is know as the Bavington 
coal, because of its exceptional thickness at that place, Ina small 
area southwest of Frankfort also it is thick enough for mining. MThe 


coal is dirty and very lenticular. 


Pittsburgh Coal. This bed is the best known, most valuable, 
and most persistent bed in Washington County, It has a total 


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thickness, including clay and shale partings, of 4 to 12 feet, 
averaging about 5 feet. It is divided into four or five-benches by 


Cley or shale partings. Where the thickness is greatest, the bed 


carries many partings. Over much of the area a rider bed having a 
thickness from 6 inches to 7 feet occurs above the main bed. The 
main bed is 4 to 7 feet of good clean coal. Along Monongahela River 
the Pittsburgh bed is a coking coal; between the river district and 
the Pidgeon Creek district it is a good gas coal. West of this gas 
coal belt it is a fine steam coal. 


The Pittsburgh coal underlies nearly all the county, and is 


“lacking only in a small area in the northwest part, and in a few 


stream bottoms. The outcrop is limited almost entirely to Hanover, 
Smith and Robeson townships in the northwest, and the tovmships 
bordering on the Morongahela. In these townships mining is done by 
drift and slope; in the rest of the county, where the coal is several 
hundred foet below the surface, mining is done by shaft. The bed is 
double almost everywhere, the roof and lower division being separated 
by a clay or shale parting, varying from e few inches to several feet 
in thickness, 


The roof division is seldom clean enough to mine. It varies in 
thickness, and carries many partings in addition to several inches of 
bituminous shale at the top. This division usually consists of two 
benches, separated by clay; locally this clay thins and many alter- 
nating layers of impure shale and coal take its place. 


In the river district the lower division of the bed is 3 to 10 
feet thick, divided by three persistent bone partings into four 
benches, namely, the "Breast" coal, the "“Bearing-in" coal, the "Brick" 
coal, and the "Lower Bottom" coal. In the remeinder of the county, 
particularly in the west, the small parting between the "Brick" coal, 
and the "Lower Bottom" coal is lacking. A few inches of "draw slate" 
comes in over the "Breast" coal. 


The "Breast" coal is the most regular and valuable bench of the 
lower division. 


The "Bearing-in" coal is thin and soft, and falls into slack on 
mining. It is often entirely discarded. 


The "Brick" coal is of good quality, averages over one foot 
thick and mines out in brick-shapec blocks, 


The "Lower Bottom" coal is not always a distinct bench, and is 
mined with the "Brick" coal. The coal in this bench is inclined to 
be dirty, and rather high in ash anc Sulphur, 


Redstone Coal. This bed is unimportant in the county, and 
except in a few townships alorig Monongahela River, nowhere is thick 
enough to mine. In the vicinity oY Hackett and Pinleyville it has 
been opened in many comitry banks, and has a maximum thickness ike oa 
feet 4 inches. In Scotts Hollow, on Pidgeon Creek, it has been 
mined in two benches 18 and 21 inches thick. Above Lock No. 4, on 


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the Monongahela, the coal is often 4 ?cet thick, and is of excellent 
quality. Just above Black Diamone mine, along the Monongahela in 
Carroll township, its thickness is 2 to 3} feet: near the mouth of 
Mingo Creek the bed has a regular thickness of 4 feet, 
aA ‘ 

The Redstone coal has good quality in this region, a is se 

in umportance to the Pittsburgh bed. The POR R TRACE of Pea ey oa 
1s high, the volatile matter is medium, and the ash and sulphur 
content only slightly exceeds that of the Pittsburgh coal. 


__ Sewickley Coal, This bed, lying from 100 to 130 feet above the 
Pittsburgh coal, is only Locally mineable in Washington County. It i 


8 Na ian thickness ot 2 feet 4 inches of clean coal on Mingo 
reek, 


Uniontown Coal, This bed lies about 225 feet above the Pitts- 
burgh coal, and is not of commercial importance at present, as it 
never exceeds 20 inches in thickness, 


4 Waynesburg Coal, This coal varies between 290 and 350 feet 
‘above the Pittsburgh bed. . It is a valuable domestic supply in 
regions where the Pittsburgh bed does not outerop, although its 
quality is not as good as the latter bed. The Waynesburg coal 
yiommonly is divided into three benches by thick clay partings. ! 
gaually the middle bench is mined, the top bench being dirty, and the 
ye OWeL bench ‘generally too thin. The top bench varies from 3 inches 
muO 2 féet in thickness; a 12 to 18 inch cley parting separates it 
Ripon a middle bench: varying froma few inches to 3 feet thick, :-The 
eorer bench is commonly 15 to 30 inches thick, with a maximum of 4 
¥eet 4 inches. It is sevarated from the middle bench by a few inches 
of alay, The Waynesburg bed is a hard block coal of no coking value; 
AtS aSh varies from 10 to 20 percent, and its sulphur from 2 to 5 
percent. 


: In the northern and western parts of the county the coal is 
variable in thickness and carries partings which make it practically 
useless, The coal is thickest in Donegal and Hopewell townships, on 
Buck, Dunkle, and Hayon runs, and in the vicinity of Acheson, , 
Farther north the coal becomes progressively thinner until it is only 
a blossom in the northeast part of Canton township, and the southwest 
part of Chartiers township. The coal is seldom mentioned in well 
records south of this outcrop. In the eastern part of the county 

the Waynesburg coal varies from a slight blossom to 7 feet in thick- 
ness, Northeast of Scenery Hill the be@ is 5 feet 2 inches thick, 

of which 18 inches is clay and shale. The coal has been mined | 
extensively on Pike Run and its tributaries, where it averages 5 = 
feet 6 inches thick. At Bentleyville, where the Pittsburgh bed is 
not available, the Waynesburg coal has beon used as domestic fuel. 

Tt has an average thickness of nearly 6 feet, but is badly parted 
with clay. In Pallowfield and Carroll towships the reported thick- 
ness is 4 feet, including partings. On Krebs Knob, west of Browns-~ 
ville the coal is 3 feet 6 inches thick, At the head of Lillys Run 
the bed ig double; a top. bench 19 inches thick is separated from the 
lower bench, which is 2 fect thick, by 3 inches of clay. The coal 
carries much sulphur, 


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Waynesburg "A™ coal, This bed has been opened in a few places 
for domestic fuel. Its thickness in most places is less than 12 
inches, although it locally reaches a maximum of 3 feet 1 inch in the 
eastern part of the county. The coel is very dirty and is associated 
with many feet of bituminous shalo, 


Little Washington Coal, This bed is a hard block coal free 
from partings, [ts thickness is rarely over 12 inches, and it is 
never mineable, 


Washington Coal, This bed is mineable in many townships, but 
its value is greatiy lessened by the prosence of many clay partings, ° 
In the northwest part of the county it is between 4 and 8 feet thick, 
but is very impure. The upper part cof the bed is made wp of several 
feet of alternating layers of clay and coal; the lower part is a 
bench of coal 2 to 3 fect thick. This bed isthe most important one 
outcropping in the western vart of the county, where its average 
thickness ig 5 feet 6 inches. The upper part of the bod is composed 
of alternating layers of coal and shale; the lower part is a good 
coal 24 to 3 feet thick, The coal is not important in the eastern 
part of the county. In a railroad cut just west of Washington the: 
bed is 7 feet 1 inch thick, but carries several partings. locally, 
the coal equals the Waynesburg in value as a domestic fuel, ; 





The coals above the Washington bed are not thick enough for 
Mining, and will not be described in this bulletin, 


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